Mirabaud Says Spain, Italy, Greece Inflows Boost Assets

Mirabaud & Cie., the Geneva-based
private bank established in 1819, said inflows from wealthy
Spanish, Italian and Greek clients helped boost assets by about
4 percent this year.

“We have seen some new European clients coming to
Switzerland to book their assets,” Yves Mirabaud, senior
partner at the firm, said in an interview in Geneva. “They
worry about the situation rightly or wrongly and want to have
their assets booked in what they believe is a safer place.”

Assets under management will increase to 25 billion Swiss
francs ($27 billion) from 24 billion francs at the end of 2011,
Mirabaud said. He didn’t provide a figure for net inflows.

While a global crackdown on tax evasion has pushed American
and European clients to repatriate funds from some Swiss banks,
the Alpine country’s safe-haven status has lured other investors
amid political upheaval in the Middle East and the euro region’s
debt crisis. Mirabaud said the wealthy clients from southern
Europe often ask to reinvest the money booked in Switzerland in
equities in their home markets.

While a rebound in stock markets also boosted assets at
Mirabaud this year, the private bank is only matching the 25
billion francs reported in 2007. In 2008, before the collapse of
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., Mirabaud set a goal of doubling
assets to 50 billion francs by 2015.

Swiss wealth managers are struggling to maintain
profitability as clients shun riskier investments and the
crackdown on tax evasion increases regulatory and compliance
costs. While the Stoxx Europe 600 benchmark has climbed 13
percent this year, customers are investing less in equities amid
concerns about the debt crisis, Mirabaud said.

More Conservative

“Clients are much more conservative, much more cautious
than they were in the 2000s,” he said. “This year, even with
positive markets, there is very low volume, trading, or
transactions.”

That is putting pressure on remuneration and means the bank
will hire fewer people, said Mirabaud. Still, the influx of new
clients has increased management fees, he said.